The Wolves' Cage
by Kireiko Ami
Summary: After some years, Jan Di believes that her life is perfect, but one day, she overhead a dangerous conversation that could change her life forever...
1. Prologue

****Hi!

This is my first attempt to write in English, Spanish is my first language. I need to improve my English skills and I really wanted to challenge myself, so, I'm here with this story and hope you like it.

Thanks to** Areej.A.A** for encouraging me to do this and for helping me. You're great!

* * *

**THE WOLVES' CAGE**

**Prologue.**

When he opened his eyes again he found himself in the same dark, cold and empty room, however, he didn't know how much time he had spent there, maybe days or maybe only a few hours. At least now he could feel his own body and move his fingers. Slowly, he sat up and focused his eyes on the person dressed in black who was laying in a couch, with his feet on the cushions even with his boots on.

"Doctor" the man groaned with a raspy and weak voice "Hey, doctor, I'm in pain... I feel really bad"

Ji Hoo stood up and approached him. He touched his forehead and then grabbed him by the wrist and checked his blood pressure.

"I have a headache, give me something... but something strong, I don't want a damn aspirin. I feel my brain drilled"

He took a box of pills and a half filled water bottle from a black backpack and gave him two pills without saying a word. The man stretched his arm painfully, and after the pills, he drank all the water at one gulp.

He was moaning in pain and breathing heavily, but smiling with irony and looked down on him.

"You've grown up so fast" he said slowly and deliberately "You look so different"

He didn't answer but continued staring at him. Ji Hoo was sick and tired; it was obvious because of his sunken eyes with deeply dark circles and his colorless chapped lips...

"Anyone who saw you could say that you've changed a lot, that you're unrecognizable now... just look at you, dressed in black and furious... Anyone could think that after all these years, after all his abuse and ill-treatment, after you two fell in love and fought over the same woman -and by the way, you lost-, after he's shown that he doesn't mind to crush you in order to get what he wants... Anyone would say that you now have your own personality..." he laughed "But you've not changed at all... you're still exactly the same faithful, crawling and wretched Goo Joon Pyo's lackey; You're not even here voluntarily, he sent you to be here... tell me, if he commands you to jump off a one hundred feet building, you will do it, am I wrong?"

Ji Hoo didn't even change his expression.

"I feel sorry for your case, Ji Hoo"

The door burst open and the light from outside harmed his eyes. Joon Pyo raged into the room, closing immediately, with a coke bottle in one of his hands and with the other, he grabbed his hair and slammed his head violently against the table.

"My headache will never spare, you bastard" groaned after the dizziness caused by the blow to his head.

"I don't give a damn about your headache, you piece of..."

"You've beaten him enough" Ji Hoo said talking quiet, turning his head to Joon Pyo.

"I'll decide when I've beaten him enough" he grumbled letting him go and then he took several aspirins from his coat pocket and swallowed all of them with the coke "Was he bothering you?"

"No" Ji Hoo slightly shook his head.

"I was not sure, so I beat him first" He perversely smiled at his victim, his eyes were red and full with rage "first you hit, then you ask"

"You're an animal" the man laughed despite of the dizzying.

The door opened again and Woo Bin came in, walking quietly.

"Finally I have managed to talk with my father" he said, reaching them "He's taking the next flight from America to here. He's furious and says we're totally insane"

"Will he come and drag us by the hair such as when we drank his unique in the world wine reserve?" Joon Pyo laughed "We were eight years old, do you remember?"

"How can we forget the first time we got drunk?" Woo Bin smiled also "It was an epic moment"

"Twenty years ago..." Joon Pyo leant his head to one side "We are so old now..."

Ji Hoo looked into the Joon Pyo eyes.

"You have large pupils. How many aspirins have you taken?"

"You don't have any moral authority to ask me that anymore" He said pointing him with his finger, he was shaking as the result of the caffeine in his blood.

"Joon Pyo" Woo Bin took his arm and turn him around "You're high. You have to listen to Ji Hoo, he knows what he does"

"No" he laughed awkwardly shaking his finger and his head "I realized by myself that he has no idea..."

Ji Hoo crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. Woo Bin frowned, he was about to ask what they were talking about, but he preferred to ask later and stood in silence staring at the man for a moment. He placed both hands on the table and quietly bent over him.

"Anyway, what have you decided?"

"I'll tell you" the man said with a grin "But I have one condition"

"What?" Woo Bin asked immediately.

"I want the savage to stop beating me"

Woo Bin stared at Joon Pyo with a disapproval gaze.

"Don't be such a crybaby" Joon Pyo grumbled crossing his arms.

"Otherwise you could never see her again..." he was about to smile again, but his gesture disappeared when he felt the tip of a scalpel in his neck.

"Do not threaten us" Ji Hoo squinted his eyes and put the knife just in front of his face "I swear if something happened to her I will open you up from the nose to the navel and I will not even let you lose consciousness"

Joon Pyo smiled, but the man didn't back off.

"I knew it, you still love her... I really, really feel sorry for your case..."

Ji Hoo grumbled

"She is like a sister to me" Woo Bin said "We'll never forgive you if she gets hurt"

"You don't have the guts, puppies" he turned his eyes to prince song "You even call your daddy to come and get you out of this..."

Woo Bin gripped him by his lapel and gave him a hefty shake.

"All right, all right" the man raised his arms a bit "Don't get angry, cubs. I'll tell you everything"

And the three of them relaxed their shoulders and stared at him.


	2. I

I.

But it all started several weeks ago.

That day, Jan Di sat down and ordered a coffee.

One, two, three, four and five teaspoons of sugar, she was anxious. Then, she added two teaspoons more. Hearing conversations behind the walls was wrong, she knew that since she was a child, and she had never liked when people do that.

She thrust her hands into her hair, stooping over, whispering to herself "calm down, Jan Di, nothing happens ... there's no way they could have known that you overheard them..."

She bit her lip and took a deep breath,

Nevertheless, whether they realized or not, what was the difference? "This is a problem, this really is a problem ... How on earth, Jan Di, can you attract such bad luck?"

"No. This has nothing to do with me"

When she felt someone hugging her from behind, she screamed scared.

"Jan Di!" Ga Eul laughed with her arms around her and rocking her a bit, "Did I scared you? Didn't you see me over there?" She said pointing the window facing the street in front of them. She had hailed from outside when she arrived but received no response.

Jan Di smiled slightly and shook her head. Ga Eul sat down in front of her.

"Sorry I'm late, but I assure you it was Yi Jung's fault" she couldn't stop smiling, you only need to mention that name to make her happy. She sighed, "but I have the rest of the afternoon off and I'm all yours, so where do we go to celebrate?"

"Ce .. Celebrate?" She stammered with her face in horror "Celebrate what?"

"You have finished college! Didn't you say last night that today was your last day as a student and we had to celebrate? I thought that's why you told me to meet us today."

"Oh yeah!" said Jan Di with her exaggerated and false laughter "I told you that over the phone last night! You're right! Yes .. Sure, we have to celebrate ... then ... Oh! Didn't you say you wanted to go to choose your wedding dress?"

"No need, we're celebrating your success, so we'll do something for you..."

"But..."

"Would you really go with me?" Ga Eul jumped with excitement, bringing her hands to her cheeks with the most genuine and adorable twinkle in her eyes "Oh, Jan Di, would you do that for me?"

"Umm... Yes, of cou...!"

She couldn't even finish her sentence before her friend hugged her again.

"Thanks, Jan Di!" she gentle squeezed and rocked her "I still don't know how I want my dress... maybe sober or maybe with a wide waist skirt and a ten feet tail, just as a princess! Very little time is left and so many things are still missing. When we got engaged, the date of the wedding seemed so far" she was speaking very fast and was hugging Jan Di tightly "but now is only a month away and there are still many details to fix, at least yesterday we finally booked the reservations for the Honey Moon, it will be like I said, two beautiful months traveling around a lot of countries in Europe, we're going to be in Paris for Christmas!, you know that this has been my dream since childhood, remind me to show you the travel itinerary, you'll die of envy. Sometimes I still feel like I'm in a dream, please I don't want to wake up never...

"Ga ... Eul ..." Jan Di panted trying to move away because she couldn't breathe.

"Oh..." Ga Eul released her and took a step back, Jan Di coughed "Sorry! Sorry! I think I'm a little anxious..." She sat down, straightened and cleared her throat "I'm going to calm down, I'm sorry"

"Hehe..." ... she gasped forcing her smile "Ga Eul... I..."

Jan Di's cell phone began to ring with its loud music, which made her shout frightened, calling the attention of the entire cafeteria, but her ashamed expression faded when she read the name on the screen and immediately answer...

"Ji Hoo sunbae!"

"I couldn't wait to congratulate the new doctor."

"Sunbae..." she laughed a little and bit her lip "I still am not a doctor."

"Paperwork. Today was officially your last day as a student, did you get the president's signature?"

"Yes! I have it right here" she said patting her bag "I was terrified but I'll tell you tomorrow... and... well, today I went to Joon Pyo's mansion and there..." Jan Di began to wander and Ga Eul raised her eyebrows curiously watching her.

"Did something happen?"

"No ... I don't know, we'll talk tomorrow okay?" she said quickly "Now I'm with Ga Eul we'll do girl stuff; and talk about shoes, you know, but tomorrow I'll be early in the clinic, okay?"

"All right, see you tomorrow then."

"Have a nice evening, sunbae, goodbye."

She hung up and sighed fast slipping a bit by the seat.

"Jan Di..." Ga Eul's smile faded away "Is something wrong?"

"No!" He shook hands and slapped her cup, spilling coffee on the table. She swore. Ga Eul immediately took several napkins to clean "Why do you ask?"

"You're strange..."

"Am I strange? No way!" she also placed napkins on the table and then crumpled all together "I'm just clumsy, as always."

"You look nervous, did you have any problems with Joon Pyo sunbae ... or with his mother...?"

"No, of course not" Jan Di tried to smile. "Things between Joon Pyo and I are going great, tomorrow we'll have dinner together, and also I'm fine with his mom, actually this morning I saw her and she introduced me to some people as the girlfriend of her son... and she doesn't threaten to destroy me anymore now she threatens to make me a society lady before I inherit the Shinhwa Group ... but honestly I don't know what scares me more..."

Ga Eul laughed "I'm glad to know that things are going well" she stood up "So, let's go"

She nodded and stood up.

Jan Di has missed a lot to walking and seeing stores in the Incheon downtown, watching the buildings, trees, plants, people, cars ... she thought to herself that it was unusual to be in the streets at that hour. Social life was an exotic treasure for those who don't study medicine. It felt strange not being cooped up in the hospital or in grandfather's clinic or in the library... She hardly remember what it felt going for a walk, but it felt good.

The passages were full of clothes shops, Ga Eul was every moment more excited, Jan Di didn't remember have seen her so radiant in all their years of friendship and of course she was happy.

"Jan Di..." Ga Eul paused to look at her best friend "Watching wedding dresses doesn't make you think of marrying Joon Pyo sunbae?

"No, actually when I see wedding dresses I think of..." She cut her sentence abruptly "Nothing"

"What?" Ga Eul said curious and gave her a little nudge, Jan Di smiled and shook her head, "Hey! aren't you telling me? I'm your soul sister, you have to tell me!"

Ga Eul noticed immediately, the silly smile that is inevitably provoked when you think in your special person had appeared in Jan Di face"

"Well, it's..." she sank her head ashamed "Ji Hoo sunbae and I once took us photographs dressed like groom and bride."

"What?" she exclaimed in surprise, then laughed "How come I didn't know that story? How? When? Why? Ji Hoo sunbae? You? How did that happen?"

"Don't imagine weird things" Jan Di lifted a finger "It was something that happened years ago, before going to college, there was a photo contest about wedding dresses and Ji Hoo sunbae and I took part cause we were bored " she raised an eyebrow and proudly said "and we won, of course..."

"I wanna see those pictures" Ga Eul smiled and nudge her again.

"I don't have any idea of what Ji Hoo sunbae made with them, sure he threw them away" she put her hands in her pockets and pretended to look a shop window "but I'll ask him if by chance he still has them..." she turned to her friend "but don't ever say this to your dear fiance because he's going to tell that to Joon Pyo and there be hell to pay!"

Ga Eul laughed.

"I am a grave."

The two of them chatted for a while and kept looking dresses, but despite that Jan Di was happy she couldn't concentrate or remove from her mind those people.

She couldn't tell to Joon Pyo what she overheard in the mansion, he surely would jump furious, and she wasn't even sure if the things she heard were true, maybe it had only been a sick joke.

She felt bad about not being able to pay attention to her best friend. Ga Eul was talking excitedly of wedding dresses and definitely she couldn't tell her neither, it would be unfair to embitter her joy.

"Life is finally perfect." Ga Eul smiled. "Everything is so great and harmonious now..."

Jan Di didn't answer, she only pretended to smile. Yes, until the day before she believed that life was finally perfect, great and harmonious.

"I hope you tell me soon what's bothering you." Ga Eul insisted again "You know I will help if you have problems."

"Seriously, nothing happened" Jan Di forced her smile one more time "I just can't assimilate that I'll be a real doctor, that's all. You're right, life is perfect."

But she didn't convince her.

She would tell that to Ji Hoo next day in the clinic, as always, he would listen to her and give a good advice.

But on second thought, doesn't sound right to tell what she heard to Ji Hoo, he might get angry. Meditating further, the best option was Woo Bin, he never rushed neither to act nor to draw conclusions, and for sure he would say that she was just imagining nonsense.

She smiled relaxed for the first time.

"Hey, Ga Eul..."

"Yes?"

"I just want to tell you that I am very happy that you are going to marry Yi Jung sunbae, you two had to wait so long, I know it was very difficult ... but now, life is perfect."

Perhaps repeating a thousand times that life was perfect and watching the blush of Ga Eul that made her look like a lovesick teenager could convince herself that everything was fine and would make her to forget what had happened that morning at the mansion.

Of course, Jan Di could not even imagine at that time how much she would regret for keeping that secret.


	3. II

**II.**

Ga Eul didn't choose a dress, but she really liked at least ten of them, she said that they look as if they were designed for a princess...

Jan Di slumped down into Ga Eul's bed, letting out a long, tired sigh.

"Today was a long day..." she smiled hugging a pillow and snuggling up "I'm dead"

"Jan Di, don't die" Ga Eul laughed climbing in bed with her friend and tickling her "The night is still young. Let's see a movie."

"Wait" Jan Di laughed "all right, all right!"

Ga Eul jumped off the bed, and opened a drawer under the TV, full of DVD's "What do you want to see? A romantic one...?"

"No!" She waved her hand in front of her nose and shaking her head strongly "Do you have something about zombies or aliens.. or zombies-aliens?

Ga Eul turned her head twisting her eyebrows in disagreement, then she took a movie box.

"Here! _The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!?_ What do you think?" she said showing the cover "It's a monster musical"

"It cannot be" Jan Di took the box blinking in disbelief at the title "is it so bad and ridiculous as is its name?"

Ga Eul nodded

"Let's see it!" She jump out of bed and turned on the DVD player.

"Jan Di..." Ga Eul spoke in a whisper "I've been thinking about... well, I wanted to ask you something..."

"Hmm..." she opened the DVD player introducing the film without looking at her friend.

"Why do you not wear your engagement ring anymore? She asked a little fearful "Do you still want to marry Joon Pyo sunbae...?"

Jan Di hid her eyes covering them with her hair...

"Of course I wanna marry him!" she replied forcing a smile "and about the ring... well, I can't use it in college, you know, the practices and the patients, the latex gloves and the x-ray room... you understand, don't you? I don't want to end up losing it...

"Well, I just..."

"After all we've been through to be together, obviously want to marry him... Don't think otherwise..."

Ga Eul nodded turning on the TV, it was obvious that Jan Di hated being asked about her engagement ring. She changed the subject asking what kind of junk she wanted to eat while watching the movie, then, she went to the kitchen to get microwave popcorn, a bag of chips and sodas. Ga Eul wanted to ask if by any chance she liked Ji Hoo sunbae, but she regreted...

Eating popcorn and chips and watching an incredibly bad movie made the night cheerful.

Only she and Ga Eul, just like the old times.

She didn't realize neither when she fell asleep nor when Ga Eul's tucked her in bed, just suddenly the night turned bad, she felt awake, fighting for sleep. That night the nightmares began...

She dreamt about herself about to knock on the Lady's office door, when she had been stunned listening to the conversation that was held within it.

She turned around and ran through the labyrinthine corridors, and then, she met her, her future mother-in-law, the woman that makes her feel like a mouse in front of a hunger cat with nowhere to flee, her the imposing presence that maker her blood froze in fear.

She was at the office. Madam Kang introduced her as her son's girlfriend and signed the documents while she was watching the faces of the people who Madam had been waiting. Maybe it was the expression of apprehension on her face or perhaps they had heard when she decided to run away, but staring at their eyes, Jan Di knew that they definitely knew that they had been heard.

That face. Thereafter that face become her worst nightmare...

Jan Di woke up sitting on the bed, breathing so hard. She dropped into the pillow, took a deep breath and told herself ...

"There's no way that he could have known that you heard him..."

Then she noticed that she was in Ga Eul's room and she was alone in bed. She checked her watch, it was still early, just a few minutes after the dawn. Out of the room she heard voices and got out of bed slowly. She shook her head to wake up completely, dressed up and left the room, went to the kitchen to sneak, Yi Jung was there ...

"How come you can't understand?" Ga Eul crossed her arms "It's simple logic, you're too unrealistic"

"No, I do not understand your problem" Yi Jung put his hands to his temples "You're making a storm in a teacup"

"I'm not making a storm in a teacup"

"Well, you know what?" He lifted his palm "Do whatever pleases you"

Jan Di knew that they were not exactly happy and started to walk backwards in order to disappear before the couple would notice her, but of course, she had to trip over the small table, fall down and break the porcelain vase loudly.

"Jan Di!" Ga Eul came running "Are you okay?"

"If you're not in a trouble then you're not Geum Jan Di" Yi Jung smiled friendly taking her arm and helping her to stand up "You're not hurt, aren't you?"

"Yi Jung sunbae!" she laughed awkwardly running his fingers through her hair to comb it a little "morning! How are you? Ga Eul! I'm so sorry, your vase...!"

"It was a trinket, don't worry" she said quickly before Jan Di bend down to pick up the pieces. "Wait, I'll clean it up..."

Finally, after a short discussion in which each of them offered to clean up, the three collected the pieces and threw them into a trash can. When Yi Jung came into the kitchen and grabbed a broom, Jan Di spoke embarrassed,

"Sorry, Ga Eul, gotta go now..."

"Should you go?" Ga Eul looked at her confused "Why? We have not had breakfast yet..."

"Really, I just remembered something urgent and I really, really gotta go..." she took a few steps backwards, approaching the door.

"But..."

"And Yi Jung sunbae..." Jan Di's voice rose a little and began talking faster and faster "Ga Eul and you make a lovely couple, please stop arguing" opened the door and stepped out, leaning one last time "Ga Eul, thanks for yesterday, I had and amazing night, missed you a lot. Well, see you soon!"

"Jan Di, wait!" Ga Eul raised her hand towards her "you're forgetting here your...!"

With a bang, she disappeared, leaving the couple with confused faces..

"...stuff..."

Seconds later, still holding the broom in one hand, Yi Jung raised an eyebrow,

"Seven years later, Jan Di still makes me shudder like the very first day..."

Jan Di sighed with relief when she was out of the house and a with a new deeply sigh ran after the bus which turned the corner just in time.

A while later, she was outside of Ji Hoo's place...

She took out the key from his jacket pocket and opened the door slowly and quietly.

"Ji Hoo sunbae?" She asked as she was sliding inside looking around " Grandpa? Are you here?"

She received no response and assumed that they would both be in the clinic and, even so, took a quick look at the rooms to make sure that the house was empty and in the end, she entered to grandpa's room, closing the door behind her. First, she examined every nook and then began opening a trunk. She rummaged the objects within it, all of them where old objects, some of which had belonged to Ji Hoo when he was a chid, photographs and drawings, she had already seen most of them. She twisted her mouth and shook her head closing the trunk and went to the dresser drawers, opening one by one, carefully removing his clothes carefully...

An hour later, she had frisked just three rooms and sat down on the floor leaning her back against the wall.

"It's impossible" and she exhaled "This freaking house is huge. This is not gonna work..."

She stood up and headed for the exit, it was getting late and she had to get to the clinic before Ji Hoo began to wonder where she was. Went outside and closed slowly, watching the handle and stood a while looking at it.

"Hello"

Jan Di screamed, turned around and slammed her own body against the door her face turned pale and her mouth dropped open while Ji Hoo was taking off his helmet and approaching her"

"Ji Hoo Sunabe!" She remained stiff and terrified "what are you doing here?"

Ji Hoo stopped in his tracks and looked up watching the building and then the garden.

"Well, apparently this is my house" he smiled a little "what are you doing here?"

"Your hou..." her body relaxed a little and laughed in a mock-way "This is your house, right... hum..." her thumbs pointed behind her, moving nervously "I... I was... it happens ... well I ... I couldn't find one of my purses and I thought maybe I had forgotten it her... but I didn't find it so..."

Ji Hoo nodded trying to listen carefully to her confusing explanation.

"Sorry, sunbae!" Jan Di bowed and clasped both hands "This was very inappropriate, I should've called, sorry, sorry..."

"All right" he calmly walked over and she stepped aside to let him open the door "You know that this is also your home ... I didn't see any purse of yours here, but I'll ask my grandfather..."

"Yes, thank you" she bowed slightly, walking behind him "even so..."

"I just came for a few things that we forgot" Ji Hoo took a folder from one the shelfs, turned back and smiled "I'm ready. I'm going back to the clinic, and you?"

"I was actually heading to the clinic..." Jan Di remained without lifting her head

"Let's go then"

She relaxed her shoulders, Ji Hoo sunbae never thought ill of her and never asked many questions. He glanced her, gave her the white helmet and she got up the motorcycle, hugging his waist and leaning her face on his back.

At the clinic, Jan Di was already smiling, enjoying his proximity, it was strange, she liked that, made her feel for a while that everything was fine, as always, he was there to look after her.

Just in that moment, the clinic doors opened wide and Joon Pyo appeared in front of them.

"Goo Joon Pyo" Jan Di removed his helmet and smiled "what are you doing here?"

"I came to cheer up the plebs with my admirable presence" he smiled arrogantly, raising an eyebrow and putting his hands in his pockets.

"You're an idiot" Jan Di gave him a slap hitting him in the arm, Joon Pyo complained and murmured something about the uneducated lower class. "Seriously, what are you doing here?"

"I came looking for you, what else?" He laughed a little. "There's something I want to show you" he smiled taking her arm and pulling her. "Come with me"

"Wait, wait, Goo Joon Pyo, you savage" She resisted tugging back "I came here to work, I can't go with you!"

"What can happen if you leave?" He squinted "Won't they pay you your hens?"

Jan Di growled, she hated when Joon Pyo spoke disparagingly about the clinic, but she wasn't going to explain anymore that sometimes the poor people can't pay cash, and Ji Hoo seemed to have no intention of defending her opinion...

"I can't go now!" she struggled detaching his grip and running to hide behind Ji Hoo "You must wait until the end of the day"

"You can go now" Ji Hoo tried not to laugh, "no problem, go" gently pushed her into the arms of Joon Pyo "go with him"

"Sunbae!" Jan Di gave him a claim while Joon Pyo caught her and smiled with triumph.

He made her get into the car, which she had not noticed when they arrived. She stretched her hands towards Ji Hoo, growling him not to let her go, but he just closed the car door once she was inside and wave saying goodbye. Joon Pyo not even turned back to look.

And after a few minutes, Jan Di had been dragged into Joon Pyo's room.

"So ... What were you going to show me?" Jan Di looked curious, feigning anger "you'd better have an important reason, I have much work to do today"

"You think I'm an insensitive and I'm not happy that you finished college" he looked at her tenderly as he opened a drawer "but you're wrong, I'm very happy and very proud of you"

Joon Pyo pulled a small gold box and opened it. Inside, nestled between blue velvet was a slim and elegant gold necklace with a sapphire. Jan Di looked at it and then looked up at him.

"Of all the invaluable objects that I told you about" he slowly pulling the jewel around her neck "it's truly invaluable" looked at Jan Di's eyes and smiled a little "Hundreds of years ago was a gift from a princess to a woman doctor..."

He gently grabbed her shoulders, turned her around to stay in front of a mirror.

"But..."

"This is not a gift, you plebeian" They looked at each other's eyes through the reflection "It's said that for centuries ago existed a woman who was devoted to medicine, a peasant who learned the science and who was dedicated to travel around the country visiting the poorest villages, helping the sick who were left to fend for their own by their families, carrying joy and health to wherever she went and it's said that she possessed miraculous hands. Once, the emperor's daughter fell ill and none of the royal doctors could cure her, then, the woman was called to the palace, because her story had already spread throughout the empire, and she saved the life of the princess, who, in gratitude, gave her this necklace"

Jan Di raised her hand and touched with her fingertips the sapphire, without taking her eyes from the mirror.

"She caught the diseases she cured and she died from it, but even to the last day of her life was devoted to others" Joon Pyo paused long. "It is said that the soul of the woman doctor is still in this necklace and the wearer will have the courage to give his life to save others"

"_The legend of Lee Ae necklace..._ they tell us in the first year of college..." Jan-Di's voice was slow and was engrossed "Is this really the necklace that belonged to Lee Ae...?"

"Who knows" Joon-Pyo shrugged "It has been in my family since long time ago. Many people and museums around the world have wanted to buy it from us, even Yi Jung's family has been trying to get it for years for their art museum..."

"You can't give me this..."

"I told you it is not a gift, it's not yours," he said hugging her shoulders pointed behind her and resting his chin on her shoulder. "Wear it because you're like her. I'd rather it to be around the neck of a woman devoted to medicine by the love she has for others and not to be kept under safes..."

"Goo Joon Pyo" She smiled tenderly, taking his arms "sometimes you are able to say beautiful things..."

"But as I said, it can't be valued, so if you lose it...

"You'll kill me..." she completed giving him a big smile.

"You have learned well..." He smiled back and still holding her, he kissed her on the cheek, then tightened his embrace and buried his face in her neck.

"What's wrong?" Jan Di felt a different warmth in his embrace and something in his breath felt a little painful, something that weighed in her chest and felt like melancholy...

Joon Pyo didn't want to argue again for asking why she wasn't wearing the star necklace he gave years ago and not mention she wasn't wearing her engagement ring either, he didn't want another discussion of practices, patients, X-ray room excuses; he had memorized that speech.

"Nothing" he said in a whisper. "Nothing, I just want to hold you in my arms..."

0o0o0

The clinic was definitely and by far her favorite place, where she felt at home and at peace. No matter how stressful and tiring could be the University, she could always get there and feel energized again, felt she didn't need more.

She slid the door and walked into smiling. The first thing she saw was Ji Hoo, who did nothing to hide his joy when he saw her arrive.

"You came back"

"Ji Hoo sunbae..." she reached him, bobbing like a little girl with naughty look and tongue between his teeth turned.

They stood face to face for a while, just staring him and giggling...

"Why did you return?"

"Joon Pyo let me go..."

Ji Hoo laughed

"I went to his place for only five minutes and then... he just let me go..."

"Sounds like something Joon Pyo would do..." his eyes found the necklace she was wearing now and could not help but raising his hand to take it, looking curiously "What's this?"

She smiled unconsciously with the delicious thrill she felt when his fingers brushed so close to her neck and took the chain.

"Oh ... this is the Lee Ae necklace..."

Ji Hoo looked up with his eyes in disbelief.

"The _Lee Ae _of the legend? That legendary woman doctor? That can not be, is just a legend..."

"Well, this is officially her necklace" Jan Di answered before he asked. "For this Joon Pyo wanted to see me today, but only lent it to me..."

"No way... Joon Pyo is truly insane..." he murmured carefully examining the sapphire without hiding the impression that it had caused on him. "And if you lose it, he'll kill you"

She laughed animatedly.

"He said that the possessor will have the courage to give his own life in exchange for the others..." she whispered to herself, then raised her voice slightly "Sunbae..." Ji Hoo released the jewel and returned to her eyes "I would like to talk to you..."

There was a moment of silence in which she lowered her gaze.

"Yes?" he asked because of her silence.

"Ji Hoo-sunbae..."

"Is there something wrong, Jan Di?"

Jan Di filled her chest with air, trying to calm the emptiness she felt inside. He waited patiently for her to speak, his eyes always kind only made her want to embrace his chest. But what could she say? How could she start? Maybe she'd just collapse again telling him _I have fear, I have so much fear..._

So Ji Hoo wouldn't let her go, he would stay with her, he would tuck in her at night till she has no more fear.

Jan Di bit her lip and didn't dare to approach him.

She closed his fist on sapphire and thought she would be more courageous . She shook his head.

"Nothing" she smiled "how do I look wearing the necklace?"


End file.
